Was Christianity an Ancient Roman Psy-Op?

Religion is most definitely used to maintain order in a society. During the time of Emperor Constantinus (Constantine), he
used Christianity to consolidate his rule
over the Roman Empire. But what if there
was a conspiracy that predates his rule
altogether?

Joseph Atwill will present his controversial theory Oct. 19 in London that the New Testament was written by first-century Roman aristocrats as part of a sophisticated government project to help pacify Jews in occupied territories.

Atwill, author of “Caesar’s Messiah,” claims he’s found ancient confessions by the scriptures’ authors that they invented Jesus Christ and his story as basically a form of propaganda.

“Jewish sects in Palestine at the time, who were waiting for a prophesied warrior Messiah, were a constant source of violent insurrection during the first century,” Atwill said. “When the Romans had exhausted conventional means of quashing rebellion, they switched to psychological warfare. They surmised that the way to stop the spread of zealous Jewish missionary activity was to create a competing belief system. That’s when the ‘peaceful’ Messiah story was invented. Instead of inspiring warfare, this Messiah urged turn-the-other-cheek pacifism and encouraged Jews to ‘give onto Caesar’ and pay their taxes to Rome.”

He says that Jesus was not based on an actual historical figure, but Atwill argues that the events of his life were overlaid on top of actual events from the First Jewish-Roman War, waged by Emperor Titus Flavius in Palestinian territories.

“The biography of Jesus is actually constructed, tip to stern, on prior stories, but especially on the biography of a Roman Caesar,” he says.

Atwill said he understands that his theory is bound to upset Christians, and he’s hoping skeptics will come to challenge him after his lecture as part of a symposium, “Covert Messiah,” along with Kenneth Humphreys, author of “Jesus Never Existed.”

“Although Christianity can be a comfort to some, it can also be very damaging and repressive, an insidious form of mind control that has led to blind acceptance of serfdom, poverty, and war throughout history,” Atwill says. “To this day, especially in the United States, it is used to create support for war in the Middle East.”

All right! Bring on the death threats from followers of the loving god.

echar

Is this the same guy that claims McKenna is psy-ops along with that other guy attempting to make a name for himself? I’ll pass.

Remember to check sources. They may be dubious, or bulshytt. Uncle Bob urges you to mind your fnords.

Juan

Exactly, regardless of all the issues I have with xtianity and monotheism, once I saw this was coming from Irvin and people of his ilk, it became instantly dubious.

jasonpaulhayes

Your gods don’t exist… THE END!

echar

Even Thor?

What about Sophia or Eris? They are Goddesses.

jasonpaulhayes

Metaphorically as personified and deified allegories.

I_abide

The flying spaghetti monster shall rain scalding marinara on you from above for your blasphemy.

doodahman

then we only have you to blame for you.

jasonpaulhayes

We?

Simon Valentine

what’ll really cook your noodle is when you figure out who communicated forward in time to edit the past such that the psy-op tangent touched upon by this article is an ever-changing multiplex that has more in common with the ink dripping off this pen than it does with quasisemiexjesusword nullification. i hope i didn’t give too much away. hah, hah, hah.

“If the Roman elite’s aim was to “pacify” Palestinian Jews by inventing new scriptures, they were certainly smart and informed enough to know that that wouldn’t succeed by using the language the Judean elite despised as foreign (Greek).”

Dingbert

So Jesus was invented based on stories from the First Jewish-Roman War to placate occupied Hebrew subjects? Even though Christianity was mainly focused on converting Gentiles outside of Palestine? And at least 30 years after the conversion of Ethiopia? 20 years after St. Thomas founded Christian churches in India? 15 after Andrew was crucified in Greece? And then persecuting Christians a century before and a century after the final Jewish revolt? That’s some conspiracy. Impeccably researched, I’m sure.
Proving or disproving the existence of someone 2000 years ago may be a fool’s errand, even for historians, let alone this guy.

jon

you are a stud.

Danny Adams

“Even though Christianity was mainly focused on converting Gentiles outside of Palestine?” Not initially. That became more of a focus once Paul got into the game. Also, no copies exist of the Gospels prior to the early 2nd century, and the dates for those conversions come from historians ranging from the 2nd century to Eusebius in the 4th.

AutAut

Right you are.

Charlie Primero

This is a CONSPIRACY THEORY. Elites would never weaponize anthropology to make people easier to manage. People are too smart to fall for that anyway. They watch History Channel and TED talks and receive 12 or 16 or 18 years of government-approved schooling.

Rhoid Rager

The worst are the ones that receive 22+ years of that kind of skooling.

echar

At least people know the National Enquirer is bunk. You know, they are not trying to pass it off as real (or seriously real). I hold Bat Boy higher than this irreputable static.

gustave courbet

You may be hitching your horse to the wrong wagon an this one.

BuzzCoastin

the Jebus story:
God created the whirled & then got pissed at humans
He wanted to kill them & tried several times
but after The Flood He somehow decided He should:
1) create a Son
2) send Him to Earth by impregnating an unmarried teenage girl
3) kills Him for the sins of (some?)humans

the fact that He happened to choose a time with no mass communication
to send His worldwide message
& leave no accurate historical record of His visit
was in fact designed to weed out the unworthy
who fail to believe such a ludicrous tale

Ittabena

Studying History and Christianity forces you to abandon one.

Haystack

If Christianity was created to pacify the Jews, how does it make sense that they then proceeded to persecute Christians?

Christianity may have become a useful tool of social control, but it was originally a weird and subversive cult, not at all in keeping with the values of pagan Rome.

Zoe Butler

You got it. He’s wrong. Next! (Yawn).

therealjeaniebeanie

The so-called persecution of Christians was made up in later centuries by church leaders wanting to rally their base. Ever since, Christianity has had a persecution complex that is not explained by reality.

ProphetPX

LMAO NO … it was not. that is being actively debunked ALL OVER the place now!

Chris White﻿ is making a movie against it, now, and here is 1 place that debunks it VERY WELL:

Pretty nifty trick. So, did they think this up before or after they nailed their patsy to the cross? Because it seems like it would have been better if they hadn’t killed him- I know I know, that’s what makes xtianity so miraculous, dead guy coming back and all, but unless the apostles were all in on it, and they were persecuted pretty ruthlessly, then your plan looks more and more like monday morning quarterbacking.

Andrew

You’re assuming the apostles existed.

DeepCough

You also forget that, according to the Gnostic tradition, Judas was the only apostle “in on it.”

Charlie Primero

Jewish messianic literature of the time required that the sacrificial passover lamb be scourged and survive a crucifixion as the prophets had predicted in order to be considered legitimate.

kowalityjesus

Yeah right! Why didn’t they invent something to pacify the Huns while they were at it? A hellluva lot more dangerous than the Jews!

Andrew

Yes but The Jooze! Zionism! The JOOOOOZE!

Ted Heistman

Even though you hate me because you think I cause global warming, I think you hit the nail on the head with this Atwill guy

Calypso_1

You are unfamiliar w/ the Khazars?

notalent

Well, It has been clear to anyone looking that there is zero evidence of “Jesus” as a historical figure, and that the Gospels were written pseudonymously generations after Jesus’ alleged life. Three of those Gospels were more or less different versions of the first (Mark). The mythology of his life was taken from other sources…but, I don’t know about this. I haven’t read his work yet, but I am intrigued as well as skeptical of his argument.

Ted Heistman

This is the foundational premise of his other theory that the CIA and Bankerz created the 60’s counterculture.

bobbiethejean

Are you implying that all atheists suffer confirmation bias or just the guy who wrote the book? Exactly what do you mean?

bobbiethejean

Aww. That’s so cute. You think I’m the stupid one here. This reminds me of when my mentally retarded sister calls me stupid because I don’t understand something she says. Why don’t you try making sense and when someone asks you for clarification, why don’t you try clarifying instead of being an ignorant asshole.

bobbiethejean

My older sister, my mother, and I all fall within an IQ range that constitutes “gifted” or “very superior” according to the current Wechsler IQ classification. My younger sister is mentaly retarded most likely because she was born 2 months premature.

So that blows your ignorant hypothesis out of the water. You could always accuse me of lying which I’m sure is your next step because it’s much easier to claim someone is bullshitting than to admit you fucked up.

Now, if you’re done hurling feces like a damn monkey, you could just clarify your initial statement. There were several possible meanings and numerous possible extrapolations. I only ever wanted to know exactly how you meant it.

bobbiethejean

I asked for clarification because your meaning was not clear due to an appalling lack of grammar. I did not want to assume as I have learned it is better to ask than assume. My initial question was not mocking or insulting in anyway.

You immediately proceeded to start hurling insults, accusing me of being retarded (comment deleted I see) and then moved on to call the rest of my family retarded as well. Now you’re calling me a subhuman because I pointed out that your assessment of my genetic heritage was erroneous.

And amongst all this, you have still failed to clarify your statement. It amuses me how you seem to think you’re intellectually superior. Actually no, it’s not amusing, it’s just sad.

bobbiethejean

You can’t possibly really be this stupid. I refuse to believe it. You’re obviously trolling. No human being on the planet can be THAT lacking in brain cells. Unless you’re secretly a potato. Are you a potato?

And for the record, I’d like to point out that after all this, you still failed to answer a simple question, perfectly illustrating the profound depths of your potatodity.

bobbiethejean

I was just thinking the same thing! Have you considered not being a brainless blob? You could try being a brainless ovoid instead. They’re much more shapely. I suppose that’s probably asking too much though. I mean, you think there’s a magical man in the sky. Lol.

00000

all of my comments were deleted for not engaging a troll who was only looking to fight. the moderation on this website is ridiculous. this atheist above asked a question which was a loaded question and also a false dichotomy to begin with. i answered her question by saying neither. i see her shit tier trolling comments still remain, while mine are gone. if you look above, you see this large woman accusing me of being a theist because i pointed out that the subject discussed in this article is nothing more than a PR release for a book which has been largely discredited by respected historical scholars from the atheist camps and religious camps as well, and only seeks to gain attention by making sensationalist claims without any proof that is supported by the historical community at large. i pointed out that many atheists will just reshare the information they read in the headline of this article without researching it at all, because it confirms their bias. instead of engaging this troll in a pointless debate about non-issues she’d like to bring up, i simply pointed out that she was trolling and treated her as such. if this is the kind of moderation you rely on to stymie shitposting, why are numerous repeat posters on disinfo, who only add basic gibberish, never talk about the subject being discussed, and repeatedly clog the machinery of civil discourse allowed to post when i am banned for doing what they do? fuck off matt. i worked for disinfo before you knew what a bilderberger was

bobbiethejean

Of course. The fault lies with everyone else. The problem could not possibly be you! Never!

I asked an honest question and you immediately proceeded to start hurling insults. You’re STILL hurling insults. Face facts here, buddy, YOU are the troll. Not me. Now get out of my inbox and go find something else to do aside from rampantly face-keyboarding in hopes that something intelligible comes out.

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